Mechanical tubing anchors are utilized in wells where rod pumping is done in order to secure the tubing in a fixed position within the casing of the well bore. These tubing anchors are provided with a plurality of leaf type springs in a spaced relation around the exterior thereof which bulge outward and provide friction or contact with the well casing. In these anchors, the slips are mounted such that they will slide on the exterior of a conical segment of the hanger body or some type of mandrel or portion of a mandrel depending upon the specific construction of the anchor. In normal operation of the well anchors, the slips move from a retracted position when the tool is run into the well, then to an extended position to grip the well casing. Upon release of the tool, the conical surfaces or the like are moved apart and the slips are free to move to the retracted position. The slips can be simply left free of all constraints so they can move to the retracted position on their own provided no foreign material has become lodged under the slips. In other constructions which utilize a separate slip element to grip the casing for upward motion and downward motion, short leaf type springs are secured to some supporting structure on the exterior of the anchor cage and attached to the slip element. These short leaf springs are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tool and function only to urge the slip elements toward their retracted position.
In other prior art constructions, small sharply bent leaf springs are mounted inside the anchor cage to urge the slips to their retracted position. These springs can be prone to sometimes encounter fatigue failures due to flexing of sharply bent portions of the springs. Also assembly of the tool is difficult because the springs must be attached to the slips and then placed inside the tool and held in position while the mandrel is inserted.